For diehards who choose to deny, ignore or reject the data problems created by the year 2000, here are 10 last-ditch excuses to invoke as time, and programming codes catch up with you. In reverse order:

10. I can't believe that two missing digits can cause this much trouble.

9. January 1, 2000, falls on a Saturday. Monday is a holiday. I'll have lots a time over the weekend to fix things.

8. The Government will pass regulations to roll back the clock to 1900.

7. I don't have the time now. Ask me next year when things slow down.

6. I lost the source code for our applications three years ago.

5. I believe in the tooth fairy.

4. I'm no using computers yet. I'm waiting for the prices to come down.

3. I'm planning to retire next year.

2. Im 95 years old. What do I care?

1. My company is already in Chapter 11.

"There are two kinds of people: those who aren't working on it and aren't worried, and those who are working on it and are terrified."

"If your company has a critical asbestos problem, would you say, 'Let's leave it up to the janitorial staff to fix it'?"

"There is no silver bullet to fix this problem. To paraphrase an old saying, there are only three certainties in life [today]: death, taxes, and the Year 2000."

- Robert Wagman in "Swatting the Millennium Bug"

1. Denial. Don't think your organization is too small to be at risk. No business that uses computers, or whose suppliers or custormers use computers, will be unaffected.

2. Procrastination. Not starting now could prove to be your biggest mistake. Everyone knows how to solve the problem, but it takes time to do it right.

3. The cheap way out. Beware of the promise of a quick and cheap fix. Don't risk losing your business by trying to save few bucks.

4. Blindly trusting your vendors. Many small business owners say they are relying on thier technical providers to come up with solutions to save them from the Millennium Bug. They may provide those solutions on time - but are you willing to take that risk?

5. Narrow-sightedness. Don't get stuck in the mindset that this is a technology issue rather than a business issue.

6. Understaffing. Line up outside help now. The good consultants are booking fast. Waiting to hire them means more cost and more chance of major technological errors.

7. Thinking your problem is just internal. Start talking to your vendors, suppliers, and customers early to ensure their information systems will also be Year 2000 compliant.

8. Ignorance. Talk to colleagues who are on top of the issue. Read as much as you can. And hire a consultant who will take the time to explain what you don't pick up on your own.

9. Forgetting the extras. It's not just computers and solftware. Take into consideration everthing in your office that depends on computer chips, like your automated phone switch (PBX) system, time clocks, and even the elevators.

10. And the biggest pitfall of them all. Not starting now - yeah, we already said it, but it's a caution worth repeating!

- Larry Tuck in "Swatting the Millennium Bug"

The "Year 200 Problem" can also be seen along the "Pareto 80/20 Rule": 80 percent of the problem is a data problem and only 20 percent is a code problem. Unfortunately, most organization are working on the code problem and virtually nobody is making appropriate changes to the data. - Cliff Kettemborough